Akira just does not want to go away

Last week, Darryn reported on how the Americanised live-action adaption of Akira has been put on hold due to budget issues. At the time reading that news, many people, myself included, couln’t help but think that this was finally it for the already long delayed production. Straw and camel backs, and all that other proverbial goodness, if you will.

But just like Tetsuo in the Japanese manga source material, this movie just does not know when to stay down. Reports surfaced over the weekend that the studio is looking to get some new writing talent on board for some rewrites “over the next two weeks, to focus on character elements and particularly on the pic’s look.”

These same reports are saying that the producers are looking at bringing in either superscribe, Jonathan Nolan (Dark Knight, The Prestige, Memento) and not-so-superscribe Michael Green (Green Lantern, Smallville). Clearly Nolan – younger sibling to megastar director, Chris – would be the bigger catch here, but somehow I have a feeling that these are just names that the producers are bandying about, and that he wouldn’t touch this with a ten-foot mutated tentacle.

There has also been talk of some casting news. Thus far Garret Hedlund has been officially confirmed to be starring, while Kristin Stewart and Ken Watanabe’s names have been spoken of in the same breath for ages now, despite not being official cast members yet. But nobody has yet been attached to the other male lead of Tetsuo. Now it looks like the producers are looking at Michael Pitt (Boardwalk Empire) or Dane DeHaan (The Wettest Country), who both apparently had screen testing option deals. Pitt is an incredible actor, and if this film ever got made, I think he would be a great choice for the troubled Tetsuo.

Well, at least I would think that if I actually wanted to see this get made. But I don’t. I really don’t. Some stories need to be left in their native format where they work the best. The last time we had an Americanised adaptation of a manga was Dragonball Z, and I’d prefer not to inflict that same type of punishment on my psyche ever again.

A man of many passions - but very little sleep - I've been geeking out over movies, video games, comics, books, anime, TV series and lemon meringues as far back as I can remember. So show up for the geeky insight, stay for the delicious pastries.

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